Staff
/ | special = None | item_ranged = | item_defense = | item_mana = | item_spell_save = | item_enchantments = | artifact_ranged = | artifact_defense = | artifact_to_hit = | artifact_mana = | artifact_spell_save = | artifact_enchantments = }} A Staff (plu. "Staves") is a type of Magical Item which can be equipped on any Hero possessing an appropriate slot. The bonuses on the Staff will enhance that Hero's performance, particularly his/her Ranged Attack. As with any Magical Item, Staves can have a total mix of up to 4 different bonuses and/or Item Powers. Staves are some of the most powerful items in the game - at least potentially. Their bonuses are primarily geared to improve the Hero's and spell-casting properties. Staves are generally superior to Wands, but are somewhat more expensive to make. Staves can receive Item Powers that alter the Hero's Ranged Attack, making it more dangerous in one way or another. Staves will never alter any of the Hero's other attack types, if present at all. Description The ultimate wizard's weapon, the Staff may appear at first to be nothing more than a long stick of wood or a simple metal pole. In fact, it is carefully designed in order to channel and enhance magical energy that's sent through it. Some Staves are designed to contain vast quantities of energy, to be released on demand by the Hero. Other Staves will only enhance the magical energy put forth by the Hero him/herself. Yet more Staves generate a magical field which can protect the Hero from harm. Whichever is the case, the released energy will likely be either highly destructive or highly useful. Thus, Staves can potentially be the strongest weapons available to any Hero. Unfortunately, Staves are also extremely costly to purchase or manufacture, as the process itself requires plenty of power and skill. The Basic Item The Staff is one of many possible Magical Item types in Master of Magic. Magical Items can be Crafted by a wizard (tailored to the specific needs of a Hero under the wizard's employ), or found as rewards for defeating a suitably-dangerous Encounter (in which case the item already has a set of pre-defined bonuses). Any Staff can be equipped on a Hero, if said Hero possesses an appropriate weapon slot. Staves can only fit into the following slots: : Staff Slot : Sword/Staff Slot The number of Heroes who have one of the above slots is rather small, about 1/4 of all Heroes. All of these Heroes have a , which will benefit from the Staff's bonuses. Furthermore, all are spellcasters by default. Note that a Sword/Staff Slot can accept a Melee weapon instead of a Wand or Staff, and so Heroes possessing such a slot can alternate between these items if necessary - but not during battle. Any additional attack strength bonuses on a Staff will only apply to the Hero's . Any Item Powers imbued into a Staff that directly alter the Hero's attack, such as adding Special Damage to it, also apply only to the Hero's Ranged Attack. A Staff cannot directly improve any of the Hero's other attacks, if he/she has any at all. Spell Charges "Spell Charges" is an Item Power unique to Wands and Staves. It imbues a spell into the item, which can then be cast by the Hero holding the item during combat. During combat, the Hero may cast the imbued spell in the same way that he/she would any other spell. In the Hero's personal spellbook, the imbued spell will have the word "Item" written to the right of its name (where the cost of the item is normally displayed). The row of Realm icons underneath the spell indicate the remaining number of "charges" on the item. Clicking this spell will cast it directly from the item - costing the Hero no whatsoever. For spells where additional can be spent, they are treated the same as if the hero was casting them normally, except no is spent. Spells with variable casting cost can be strengthened by < hero's remaining mana - the spell's base casting cost > mana points, without expending any of the hero's . Each time a spell is cast this way, the number of charges on the item decreases by 1. Once the item reaches 0 charges, the "Spell Charges" enchantment cannot be used again for the rest of the battle. Once the battle is over, all used charges will be restored. Crafting a Staff It is possible to create a new Staff (like any other Magical Item) using the Item Crafting process. This is initiated by casting either the Enchant Item spell or the Create Artifact spell, though there are differences in the potential strength of the new Staff depending on which spell is chosen. During Item Crafting it is possible to select a Staff as the type of Magical Item being created. This sets the default cost of casting the item-crafting spell to , making it one of the most expensive item-types in the game. Once the Staff is selected, the Item Crafting menu will show all bonuses and Item Powers that can be imbued into it. Click the desired options to add them to the weapon, or click a selected option to remove it. Regardless of which item-crafting spell was selected, a Staff can only take up to 4 different bonuses and/or Item Powers - just like any other item in the game. Each additional bonus will increases the value of the item by a set amount. The more powerful the bonus or enchantment, the more it raises the item's value (see list below). An item with higher value costs more to create, and thus may take more than one turn to complete. Note that a Staff is always superior to a Wand in terms of the type and strength of bonuses it can take. The Staff, however, costs more than a Wand by default. Thus Staves are often created later in the game, when ample is available, and will generally replace Wands entirely. During the early game however, crafting a new Staff can bankrupt your reserves very easily; try to make Wands instead. Enchant Item The Enchant Item spell limits the strength of the bonuses that can be imbued into a Staff, and also the types of Item Powers that can be added to it. Note that With Enchant Item, it is not possible to add Spell Charges to a Staff. Available Bonuses Available Item Powers Create Artifact The Create Artifact spell allows Staves to be imbued with much more powerful bonuses and/or Item Powers. Certain limitations still apply, based mainly on the type and number of Spellbooks you possess, and the amount of you wish to spend on creating the item. Available Bonuses Available Item Powers Spell Charges :When crafting a Staff using Create Artifact, it is possible to select the "Spell Charges" enchantment. When it is clicked, a list will appear containing all combat spells currently in your own wizard's repertoire (i.e. researched and available for casting); Select a spell to add it to item. A pop-up will then ask you to select the number of charges of this spell you wish to add. :Each Spell Charge added to an item increases its value by the following amount: 20 * Spell_Basic_Cost * Charges :Where Spell_Basic_Cost is the basic Combat Casting Cost of the selected spell, and Charges is the number of spell charges you've selected to imbue into the item. Adding Spell Charges to any item is thus extremely expensive, but can be a valuable tactical asset. :Once added, the "Spell Charges" enchantment disappears from the available enchantments list, and replaced with a line rendered in this format: " x". Clicking this line removes the charges from the item, and returns the "Spell Charges" enchantment to the list. Thus, it is only possible to add one set of charges to any Staff. : The "Spell Charges" enchantment counts towards the maximum number of Item Powers added to the weapon (4). It always "consumes" only one pick (like any other Item Power), regardless of how many charges were added. Acquiring a Pre-Defined Staff The game data files contain 250 items that were designed by Simtex - each with its own pre-set name, bonuses and/or Item Powers. 26 of these items are Staves. There are three different ways by which you can acquire one of these pre-defined Staves: * By winning a difficult Encounter. * By purchasing it from a traveling Item Merchant. * As result of a random Event called "The Gift". It is often better to acquire items in this way, as it means you do not need to spend any time or to create them. However, since the offered item is chosen at random, and since all 250 items have pre-defined bonuses and enchantments, you may or may not receive an item that's really suitable to your needs. Furthermore, many of the pre-defined items possess Item Powers that cannot legally be added to them via Item Crafting. Staves as Treasure Whenever an Encounter zone of sufficient difficulty level is cleared of its initial defenders, the winning army may receive a Staff (or any other Magical Item) as a reward. The game may select (at random) any item whose total value does not exceed the remaining treasure points given by the Encounter. Thus, the more difficult the Encounter, the more potential there is to receive a high-value item. If the selected item's value is significantly lower than the remaining treasure points, the game will try to select additional rewards (possibly more items). Staves from Item Merchants Item Merchants have a certain chance to appear at the start of any overland turn. This chance is primarily influenced by the wizard's current score. When the roll dictates that a Merchant should appear, the game selects an item at random from the entire list of all 250 pre-set items. Item Merchants will only offer the selected item if the wizard has 3 times as much as the value of the item itself. Charismatic wizards need only 1.5 times as much as the item's value, since they pay half-price for any item. If you lack sufficient Gold at the start of the turn, the Item Merchant will simply not appear this turn. Staves as Gifts Finally, an Event called "The Gift" may occur at random at the start of any overland turn, bestowing a Staff (or any other Magical Item) to your wizard, for no cost whatsoever. This event can choose any of the 250 pre-defined items, including any of the 26 available Staves. List of Pre-Defined Staves Below is a list of each Staff present in the default game-data files. The ItemMake program which is supplied with the game allows users to alter the list of pre-set items at will: you can change any of these items (within the same constraints as those of a Create Artifact spell), add new ones, or remove existing ones from the list. Therefore the list below may or may not match your game-files. * This Item Power cannot be added to a Staff when Crafting Items. For explanations on what it does, see the Item Crafting article. Category:Magical Items Category:Staves